Today in Labor History September 5th, 2021

 

The very first Labor Day in the country was celebrated in 1882

Between 20,000 and 30,000 marchers participated in New York’s first Labor Day parade, demanding the 8-hour day. The parade was filled with banners: “Labor Built the Republic – Labor Shall Rule It”; “To the Workers Should Belong the Wealth”; “Down with the Competitive System”; “Down with Convict Contract Labor”; “Down with the Railroad Monopoly”; and “Children in School Not in Factories”, among others. – 1882

Ten thousand angry textile strikers, fighting for better wages and working conditions, besieged a factory in Fall River, Massachusetts where 300 strikebreakers were working. The scabs were rescued by police using tear gas and pistols on the strikers. – 1934

A general strike began across the U.S. maritime industry, stopping all shipping. The strikers were objecting to the government’s post-war National Wage Stabilization Board order that reduced pay increases negotiated by maritime unions. – 1946